MSP calls for NHS minimum wage of £7 per hour : 6 per cent of NHS Tayside employees earn less

07 May 2009

Marlyn Glen, the Dundee-based MSP, is writing to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon in support of a campaign to ensure that all health service employees earn at least £7 per hour, as figures show that 6 per cent of NHS Tayside employees earn less than this hourly rate.

Ms. Glen said,

” This would be another step of progress towards establishing a living wage for low-paid healthcare employees, particularly in these difficult economic times.

” Over a year this would bring appreciable benefit to many families.”

In an answer to a question raised in parliament by Ms. Glen, the Health Secretary said that a total of 834 employees of NHS Tayside receive less than £7 per hour.
They make up 6 per cent of the health board’s 13,607 employees, excluding GPs and GDPs ( General Dental Practitioners )
They are on pay points 1 and 2 of Agenda for Change, with pay point 1 earning £6.76 per hour and pay point 2 earning £6.94.
Only these 2 pay points are below an hourly rate of £7.
The National Minimum Wage currently stands at £5.73 for those aged 22 and over.

Heath Secretary Nicola Sturgeon described their hourly rate as ” significantly above the national minimum wage.”